Why the woodpecker hits its beak against the tree trunk
Audio 06:48
Why the woodpecker hits its beak against the tree trunk © FMM
12 mins
A long time ago, in a small village nestled in the heart of the forest, there lived a peak called Bobokôkô.
It was a bird of great beauty with colorful plumage, a sharp beak, a melodious voice.
It is said that he also had great faults: he was boastful, liar, lazy and all the people of the forest - the furry and feathered animals - knew he never kept his promises.
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To top it off, our friend was into drinking, he was in the bush all the time, which made his mother very sad.
One day, the latter fell seriously ill.
They took her to all the healers, all the marabouts, all the witch doctors from all walks of life, but their conclusion was the same: Mama Pic would probably not see the next rains.
Mama Woodpecker was very popular in the forest, so all the animals offered to help organize the funeral.
But Bobokôkô categorically refused:
No, no, no, everything is already planned. Your help will not be necessary I take care of everything. It's me Bobokôkô, you forgot it?
He said that it was his honor to offer his mother a farewell worthy of a queen and that he himself was going, by force of his beak, to dig his tomb in the trunk of a tree. The animals of the forest did not insist: who would refuse an opportunity to save money? But all were waiting to see how Bobokôkô was going to do it.
Meanwhile, Mother Peak's condition was deteriorating day by day, she had to prepare to join the ancestral realm.
It was time to start planning the funeral, but we still couldn't see anything coming.
Neither the dancers, nor the announced musicians, nor the mourners, nor the famous griot with the voice capable of soothing the pains of a toothache.
The order for the funeral attire had not even been placed and of course Bobokôkô had not started digging the grave of his poor mother.
He didn't seem to care and continued to get drunk in the bush, and to roam to the frenzied rhythm of zouglou.
Intoxicated, Bobokôkô sings:
It will be unheard of oh.
Mum's funeral oh that will be a sight to behold.
You who are hungry, you hungry, come and eat it will be unheard of dèh. Serve a drink, I invite you to the funeral, we will drink, we will eat our fill. Come on, you are all invited. Sap yourself and come.
For the occasion I take care of everything.
I will honor you mother, I will honor you, serve, serve I take care of everything!
It was then that the terrible news fell: Mom Pic was gone.
Bobokôkô cries and laments
:
Mom, mom why
The sun has set
Bobokôkô went to the maquis to drown his sorrows in palm wine.
Like a lazy man, he didn't realize that time was running out and kept telling whoever wanted to hear that his mother's funeral was going to be lavish.
A night passed, then a second, a third, without anything being done.
Poor mama pic's body was starting to attract flies.
This time, Bobokôkô could not procrastinate any longer.
He immediately began to dig the grave.
But the business was not easy.
The forest soon resounded with the pecks he gave against the trunk of the tree incessantly, but to no avail.
At the end of a week, Bobokôkô's beak was all swollen and Mom Pic's body was in a state of advanced decomposition.
The birds of the forest, scandalized that mama pic still had no burial (and annoyed by the smell), went to find their king Kôlié, the eagle, to ask him to intervene.
He ordered the earth to be turned over immediately, and Mama Peak was finally able to reach her final resting place.
To escape the shame, Bobokôkô fled into the forest swearing that one day his mother's body would return to the place he had planned for him.
This is why since that day, we can hear the woodpecker hitting the trunk of its beak in order to dig the grave of its mother.
My tale is over.
Credits:
Why the woodpecker hits its beak against the tree trunk
Performed by Koami Vignon and Charles Kohoury.
Vocals: Valérie Gobey
Music: Jean Sempé Ake Olloé.
Storytelling research and adaptations: Flore Kra, Valérie Gobey, Eugène Konan and Elvis Tanoh.
Associate production company: Sonia Arruda Touré, Romain Masson
Production assistant: Romain Chmiela, Eugène Konan,
Assistant director: Elvis Tanoh.
Director: Laure Egoroff and Tidiane Thiang.
Thanks to Thomas Weill, Yanick Zagba, Sony Music Africa, Stéphane Dogbo, and the RFI teams.
With the support of the "Accès Culture" program of the French Development Agency and the French Institute.
A
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and
Books For All production - Côte d'Ivoire
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